Miss Cuba PJD2 Queen
in an unexpected win
PHILIPSBURG--“That’s not fair,” “They cheated” and “What went wrong?” were among the sentiments expressed by disappointed patrons in St. Maarten Festival Village early Friday morning when 26-year-old Cuban singer Marilyne Sanchez was crowned the eighteenth annual PJD2 Caribbean Queen.
Sachez’s win over some crowd favourites was unexpected and resulted in many patrons questioning what had gone wrong. One angry patron threw a box of unfinished food towards the stage in a show of disappointment.
Miss British Virgin Islands Leilani Stevens placed first runner-up, Miss Martinique Kathlyn Desir second runner-up, crowd favourite Miss Dominica Marah Walter third runner-up and Miss St. Maarten Joada Carty fourth runner-up.
Shortly before the winner was announced the audience was told that the delegates had been pre-judged during an interview segment held by a panel of different judges on Wednesday and the points accumulated then had been included in their final score. This did not sit well with some members of the audience who asked why this segment hadn’t been held during the show.
Clad in a spaghetti-strap red gown Sanchez, who resides in Miami, told The Daily Herald shortly after being crowned that she would be backing the cause of Make a Wish Foundation during her reign. She said the foundation helped terminally ill children and children with cancer. “I also want to raise awareness of the Cuba culture,” the confident and well-spoken singer said. “I feel overwhelmed and excited,” she added when asked how she felt as the new queen.
Sanchez, who won the Top Model of the World Pageant in January, made a positive impression on the judges when she serenaded them with Italian song “O Mio Babbino Caro.” Loud roars of applause rang out from the audience when she completed the song in the talent segment.
The curtains rose on the pageant with entertainment by a number of local artistes, models and Motiance Dancers.
The 27 beauties then appeared on stage in their traditional wear and introduced themselves. Several of them shone in this segment, including Miss Dominica, while a handful were unimpressive.
The contestants displayed their talented side through singing, dramatisations and dancing in the talent segment in which a few of the contestants made a lasting impression. Miss Dominica held onto strong crowd support with her calypso rendition urging parents to “take back control” of their children through discipline.
Carty performed a dramatisation about drugs and losing her mother to drugs, while Stevens serenaded the audience with the song “I Am Changing.” Desir did a graceful belly dance that had some in the audience saying, “Wow!”
Jamaican reggae artiste Da’ville spiced up the show with a brief performance before the evening gown segment. At one point he came off stage and greeted fans while singing.
Elegance and charm abounded during the evening wear segment of the show, following which the 10 finalists and then the winners chosen.
Also making the top 10 were Miss St. Martin Shanira Richardson, Miss Nevis, Miss St. Lucia, Miss Barbados, Miss Suriname and Miss St. Lucia.
Versatile and Angelique Romou were Master and Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening.
